Slitherine’s next ancient strategy game, Legion: Arena has gone gold. It can be pre-ordered now from their website and will be released October 21.

My enthusiasm for this game was tempered a bit by the underwhelming IGN previews and the news that there would be no battle generator. But, with over 100 scenarios and their best engine yet, I am excited again.

I’ll confess to being a sucker for the material. I’ll read, watch and play almost anything with an ancient vibe. I even watched the execrable ABC miniseries Empire. The only more enjoyable than a good sword & sandal movie is a bad one, after all. This doesn’t work for games; a bad game is a bad game and you can’t take much zeal in the ludicrous when it’s taking up time you can spend on a good game.

With a 39.99 asking price, it’s ten dollars cheaper than Age of Empires 3 and appeals more to my sensibilities. Though Slitherine’s games to date have been pretty average, I keep following them because I have a feeling that someday they will surprise me.

Here’s hoping that October 21 brings a surprise.